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After attacks in Paris, governors refuse to accept Syrian refugees

At least 23 governors, expressing fears about terrorism, are taking action — through executive order, a request to federal officials or some other means — to prevent Syrian refugees from settling in their states.

WASHINGTON -- At least 24 governors, expressing fears about terrorism, are taking action — through executive order, a request to federal officials or some other means — to prevent Syrian refugees from settling in their states.

Their stand in the name of public safety began Sunday and escalated quickly Monday, igniting a debate over whether states even have the power to refuse people based on their nationality.

The governors — in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin — were reacting to Friday’s attacks in Paris and the possibility that refugees seeking resettlement in the USA might include people with terrorist ties.

Twenty-three of the 24 governors are Republican. The lone Democrat is Gov. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire.

"There may be those who will try to take advantage of the generosity of our country and the ability to move freely within our borders through this federal resettlement program, and we must ensure we are doing all we can to safeguard the security of Americans," GOP Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin said.

In Louisiana, Republican Gov. Bobby Jindal signed an executive order instructing state agencies to “take all available steps” to stop the relocation of Syrian refugees in his state.

Incoming Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin, who is to be inaugurated Dec. 8, said his primary responsibility would be to protect Kentuckians.

I just signed an Executive Order instructing state agencies to take all available steps to stop the relocation of Syrian refugees to LA.

Legal scholars say governors probably have little power to stop refugees from entering their states.

"The one thing I feel very comfortable saying is there is absolutely no constitutional power for a state to exclude anyone from its territories," said Stephen Legomsky, a Washington University of St. Louis law professor and former chief counsel of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Obama administration.

In Florida, Gov. Rick Scott acknowledged that only Congress can deny federal funding to help Syrian refugees relocate to the U.S. He urged lawmakers to do that.

Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin of Vermont went the opposite direction and said his state will uphold American values by welcoming refugees fleeing terrorism and violence.

At least 132 people were killed and hundreds injured in a series of attacks that took place around Paris on Friday evening. Several of the attackers have been identified as French citizens. According to French prosecutors, a bomber who targeted the national stadium was found with a Syrian passport.

The passport's discovery raised concerns that Islamic State militants may be crossing into Turkey before moving to Western Europe alongside the hundreds of thousands of refugees and migrants who have entered Europe this year, many of them fleeing the civil war in Syria.

USA TODAY compiled governors’ views on the resettlement question by contacting their offices or tracking their statements and Twitter posts. Twenty-one governors said they plan no action for now to keep Syrian refugees out of their states, and five — in Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York and North Dakota — had no response.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie did say, however, that he was opposed to Syrian refugees entering the United States but did not join governors who said they were taking action to prevent refugees from settling in their states.

Some governors were measured in their opposition to refugee resettlement.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder, for example, suspended a Syrian relocation program already underway but did not issue a blanket statement opposing future resettlement of Syrian refugees. About 20 Syrian refugees already in the pipeline for resettlement recently arrived in Michigan or are expected to arrive soon. Snyder said Monday he is not asking that they be stopped or vetted again.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder participates in a panel at the Commonwealth Club on Oct. 1, 2015, in San Francisco.(Photo: Justin Sullivan, Getty Images)

Detroit-area Arab-American leaders and refugee advocates argued the Department of Homeland Security already does extensive security checks before allowing any refugees into the U.S.

"The United States should be a safe haven," said Dr. Yahya Basha, a Syrian-American advocate from West Bloomfield, Mich., who has family members who are refugees. He was at the White House recently to discuss the Syrian refugee crisis with U.S. officials: "We should welcome them."

Republican Gov. Robert Bentley of Alabama acknowledged Sunday there are no plans to settle refugees in his state, or credible terror threats directed at Alabama. But he issued a statement saying he would "not place Alabamians at even the slightest possible risk of an attack on our people."

Despite such reactions, President Obama is continuing with plans to accept about 10,000 refugees from Syria. The civil war in Syria, which has raged since 2011, has killed 250,000 people and, according to the United Nations, sent more than 4 million refugees into other countries to flee the violence in what has been called the largest humanitarian crisis since World War II.

“The people who are fleeing Syria are the most harmed by terrorism, they are the most vulnerable as a consequence of civil war and strife,” Obama said from the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey. “They are parents, they are children, they are orphans.”

He praised countries like Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon and Germany that have opened their borders to refugees as “a signal of their belief in a common humanity.”

Obama criticized those who would pick and choose who to accept based on their religion, and he urged American lawmakers “not to fall into that trap, not to feed that dark impulse inside of us.”

But Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a letter to the president that, "Neither you nor any federal official can guarantee that Syrian refugees will not be part of any terroristic activity. As such, opening our door to them irresponsibly exposes our fellow Americans to unacceptable peril."

One refugee advocacy organization said the governors are setting themselves up for a discrimination lawsuit.

“You can’t restrict certain nationalities coming to your state,” said Jen Smyers, director of policy and advocacy with the Immigration and Refugee Program at Church World Service.

CLOSE

North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory is asking President Obama and the federal government to stop sending his state Syrian refugees in the wake of the Paris attacks.
USA TODAY

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence issued a statement saying his state "has a long tradition of opening our arms and homes to refugees from around the world but, as governor, my first responsibility is to ensure the safety and security of all Hoosiers. Unless and until the state of Indiana receives assurances that proper security measures are in place, this policy will remain in full force and effect.”

In Tennessee, Gov. Bill Haslam said screening, acceptance and placement of refugees is legally under the authority of the federal government.

“Today I’m asking the federal government to suspend placements in Tennessee until states can become more of a partner in the vetting process,” he said.

The vast majority of the Syrian refugees have gone to Europe or neighboring countries. The United States accepted 1,854 through September, more than 10 times as many have been admitted from Myanmar. The Obama administration has indicated that it plans to increase that number to 100,000 by 2017, which human rights advocates call inadequate to address the depths of the crisis.

The U.S. accepted at least 130,000 South Vietnamese refugees in the months after the fall of Saigon in 1975.

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Two men hold signs reading "Free hugs" at Place de la Republique (Republic Square) in Paris on Nov. 21, 2015, as people gather to pay tribute to the victims of the Nov. 13 terror attacks. A coordinated wave of attacks on Parisian nightspots claimed by Islamic State jihadists killed 130 people. Loic Venance, AFP/Getty Images

A woman shows a poster reading "Islam Is Peace" during a demonstration of Muslims to speak out against terrorism a week after the Paris attacks, on Nov. 21, 2015, in Milan. Hundreds of Muslims rallied in Rome and Milan to show solidarity with the victims of the jihadist attacks, condemning violence in the name of religion and chanting "we are not the enemy." Olivier Morin, AFP/Getty Images

People take pictures of the Eiffel Tower from Trocadero place a week after the start of the Paris attacks. French President Francois Hollande will preside over a national ceremony on Nov. 27 honoring the victims of the deadliest attacks on France in decades. Laurent Cipriani, AP

A sign reading 'Je suis en terrasse' (Lit: I am on terrasse) is displayed in front of the memorial set near the Le Carillon restaurant to mark a week since the start of the terrorist attacks in Paris. Sebastien Nogier, European Pressphoto Agency

Armed policemen take positions at the top of the Invalides Dome during a military ceremony attended by the French president at the Hotel des Invalides in Paris, six days after a series of deadly coordinated attacks in the French capital. AFP/Getty Images

Cars drive on the Champs Elysees near the Ferris wheel at the Place de la Concorde, which is illuminated with the French national colors in tribute to the victims of the Nov. 13 terror attacks. AFP/Getty Images

French forensics officers carry bags outside the 8 rue du Corbillon building in Saint-Denis, a northern Paris suburb, after a police raid in connection with last week's terrorist attacks. According to officials, two people were dead and at least eight people were arrested in the raid. European Pressphoto Agency

Residents are evacuated in Saint Denis, near Paris, on Nov. 18 after a woman wearing an explosive suicide vest blew herself up as heavily armed police tried to storm a suburban Paris apartment where the suspected mastermind of last week's gun and bomb rampage was believed to be held up. Peter Dejong, AP

Residents are evacuated by the police in Saint Denis, north of Paris, Nov. 18, 2015, as authorities were telling residents to stay inside during a large police operation near France's national stadium. Thibault Camus, AP

French police at work in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, on Nov. 18, 2015, after the French Police special forces raided an apartment building as the searched for those behind the attacks. Joel Saget, AFP/Getty Images

Forensics of the French police are at work in the northern Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, on Nov. 18, 2015, after French Police special forces raided an apartment, hunting those behind the attacks that claimed at least 129 lives in the French capital. Lionel Bonaventure, AFP/Getty Images

Jean-Marie de Peretti mournsNov. 17, 2015,the loss of his 33-year-old daughter Aurelie one ofthe victims of the attack on the Bataclan concert hall, rear, a site of the Nov. 13, 2015, attacks in Paris. Peter Dejong, AP

A woman lights a candle at a memorial for the victims of the attacks claimed by Islamic State which killed at least 129 people and left more than 350 injured, on Nov. 17, 2015 at the Place de la Republique in Paris. Adrien Morlent, AFP/Getty Images

Heavily-armed members of the German SEK special forces police unit stand outside a house in Schaufenberger Strasse street where they possibly made two arrests on Nov. 17, 2015, in Alsdorf, Germany. Police announced that a unit of the SEK special forces had arrested two men and one woman in connection with the recent terrorist attacks in Paris in the parking lot of an employment office. Sascha Steinbach, Getty Images

Traders pause on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange during a moment of silence for the victims of last week's terrorist attacks in Paris at the start of the trading day in New York. Justin Lane, European Pressphoto Agency

A view of the tributes outside the Le Carillon restaurant, one of the scenes of the terror attacks in Paris. Countries across Europe joined France, currently observing three days of national mourning. Christopher Furlong, Getty Images

French President Francois Hollande flanked by French Prime Minister Manuel Valls and French Education Minister Najat Vallaud-Belkacem stands among students as they hold a minute of silence in the courtyard of the Sorbonne University in Paris. Pool photo

Security forces personnel move in from balconies to a building being entered as part of ongoing operations in the Molenbeek district of Brussels. Belgian police launched a major new operation in the Brussels district of Molenbeek, where several suspects in the Paris attacks had previously lived. Dirk Waem, AFP/Getty Images

A man holds a placard reading "I am the living together" (as to mean live together in peace) as people gather to observe a minute of silence to pay tribute to victims of the attacks claimed by Islamic State at the Place de la Republique in Paris. Loic Venance, AFP/Getty Images

A makeshift memorial for the victims of the attacks claimed by Islamic State at the Place de la Republique in Paris. France and other countries in Europe held a minute's silence in memory of the victims of the worst terrorist attacks on French soil. Loic Venance, AFP/Getty Images

People gather outside of Notre Dame Cathedral ahead of a ceremony to the victims of the Friday's terrorist attacks on Nov. 15, 2015, in Paris. As France observes three days of national mourning, members of the public continue to pay tribute to the victims of Friday's deadly attacks. David Ramos, Getty Images

The Archbishop of Paris, Andre Vingt-Trois, says mass in homage to the attacks' victims at the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, two days after a series of deadly attacks, Nov. 15, 2015. Lionel Bonaventure, AP

French police secure the perimeter after panic broke out among mourners who payed their respects at the attack sites at restaurant Le Petit Cambodge (Little Cambodia) and the Carillon Hotel in Paris, Nov. 15, 2015. Peter Dejong, AP

A man carries two children after panic broke out among mourners who payed their respect at the attack sites at restaurant Le Petit Cambodge (Little Cambodia) and the Carillon Hotel in Paris on Nov. 15, 2015. Peter Dejong, AP

Parisians light candles and lay tributes on the monument at Place de la Republique, the day after deadly terrorist attacks in Paris, France. At least 120 people have been killed and over 200 injured, 80 of which seriously, following a series of terrorist attacks in the French capital. Christopher Furlong, Getty Images

Soldiers from the 3rd Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment of Carcassonne are pictured upon their arrival, on Saturday, at Paris following a series of coordinated attacks in and around Paris in Roissy-en-France. Eric Feferberg, AFP/Getty Images

A relative of victims of the Paris terror attacks arrives to a center of emergency psychological support at the Ecole Militaire, in Paris on Saturday. The French government declared a state of emergency, tightened border controls and mobilized 1,500 soldiers in consequence to the Nov. 13 Paris attacks. Guillaume Horcajuelo, EPA

Mayor of Paris Anne Hidalgo is seen on Saturday near the scene of the Bataclan Theatre terrorist attack, in Paris. At least 127 people have been killed and over 200 injured, 80 of which seriously, following a series of terrorist attacks in the French capital. Pascal Le Segretain, Getty Images

epa05024194 Police forensic experts work on the scene of one the shootings that took place in Paris at the Cafe Comptoir Voltaire in Paris, France, 14 November 2015. At least 120 people have been killed in a series of attacks in Paris on 13 November, according to French officials. EPA/MARIUS BECKER ORG XMIT: dus600 Marius Becker, epa

A woman leaves candles and flowers next to the Carillon bar in the 10th district of Paris following a series of attacks in and around the city, leaving at least 120 people killed. Kenzo Tribouillard, AFP/Getty Images

A street cleaner arrives to clean blood from the pavement near a patisserie at the Rue de Charonne in Paris following a series of coordinated attacks in and around Paris late Friday which left more than 120 people dead. Loic Venance, AFP/Getty Images

Forensic police arrive near a crime scene at the Rue de Charonne in Paris on following a series of coordinated attacks in and around Paris late Friday which left more than 120 people dead. Loic Venance, AFP/Getty Images

Mourners gather outside of the Carillon bar and Le Petit Cambodge restaurant in the 10th district of Paris following a series of attacks in and around the city, leaving at least 120 people killed. Kenzo Tribouillard, AFP/Getty Images

Spectators embrace each other as they stand on the playing field of the Stade de France stadium in Saint Denis, outside Paris. Hundreds made their way to the pitch after explosions were heard nearby. Christophe Ena, AP

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, left, French President Francois Hollande, center, and French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, attend an emergency meeting at the Interior Minister on November 13, 2015, after several attacks in Paris. Christelle Alix, AFP/Getty Images

Spectators gather on the pitch of the Stade de France stadium following the friendly football match between France and Germany in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, after a series of gun attacks occurred across Paris as well as explosions outside the national stadium. Franck Fife, AFP/Getty Images

Spectators wait on the pitch of the Stade de France stadium following the friendly football match between France and Germany in Saint-Denis, north of Paris, after a series of gun attacks occurred across Paris as well as explosions outside the national stadium. Miguel Medina, AFP/Getty Images

A man talks on the phone next to the Bataclan where a shooting and a hostage situation took place earlier tonight in Paris, France, 14 November 2015. Dozens of people have been killed in a series of attacks in Paris on 13 November. EPA/ETIENNE LAURENT ORG XMIT: ETI5440 Etienne Laurent, European Pressphoto Agency

French President Francois Hollande, center, is flanked by French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve, left, and French Prime Minister Manuel Valls, right, as he addresses reporters near the Bataclan theatre in central Paris. Miguel Medina, AFP/Getty Images